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By Michael Bielawski
The Burlington Police Department and the public met at City Hall on Thursday afternoon to share information and solutions regarding how to curb increased crimes in The Queen City. Both the public and the understaffed department shared exasperation as well as hope that things could improve.
Much of the meeting was Police Chief Jon Murad going over the latest monthly report on crime statistics and the latest challenges with keeping the department adequately staffed.
“The men and women of this police department are there to serve this community, that’s why they took the job,” Murad said in response to one frustrated resident. A lady at the meeting claimed to have been physically threatened with a knife near the downtown area and yet she says there was not an in-person response.
Murad said if that’s the case, then it warrants some investigating.
“I’d love to look into that for you … we can try to figure out what happened there because that’s not right.”
Having fewer officers with more crimes to deal with has forced the department to adopt a “priority response” model that means in some cases crimes including hard drug use out in the open will not get an officer response. Despite generally sympathizing with the department’s challenges, some residents are nonetheless frustrated.
For example during late night hours when staffing is especially limited, Murad explained that he always needs at least two officers on hand for what’s considered a priority 1 call, meaning someone is likely in danger.
Murad explained some of how this sometimes juggling act works.
“They are waiting until an incident comes up that does need a two-officer priority 1 response and then they will respond. Now if the retail theft officer [who went out earlier that night] finishes her task before, well now we have three available again and then somebody can go to that larceny from a building [a non-priority 1 call].”
He explained that before the City Council voted to let go of about a third of the department via attrition back in June of 2020, they had in the high 90s for an officer count.
Rapidly officers started leaving, and now about four years later they are still stuck in the high 60s. That does not include officers can be unavailable for all different reasons such as injury, family, airport assignments, and more.
Public frustrated
A member of the public noted that having their names in the media can make them targets. One said that their apartment complex faces over $50 in repair and security modifications to account for local crime and vandalism. Numerous references were made to car thefts, retail thefts, and more.
The information shared by Murad in his monthly report highlights that gun crimes are down thanks to greater efforts to focus on that, but other crimes including car thefts and retail thefts continue to be up as well as drug activity.
Candidate for State Office in the crowd
Former State Senator John Rodgers who is running for the Lieutenant Governor’s office attended. Rodgers said, “I need to know more about what’s going on here. But I’d also like to ask you, is 87 enough if you could get to that?”
Murad said if they can get to the current City Council-approved cap of 87 officers again that will be a big step and they can continue from there.
He noted to VDC during the question/answer portion that the new Mayor’s Office of Emma Mulvaney-Stanak has been generally supportive of the police department and even engaging with officers.
Democratic City Councilor Joan Shannon and other city leaders could be observed in attendance, of which there were around 25 people and it was filmed by local TV in Burlington. The audience was generally supportive of this public meeting and some asked that the department try to do more in the future.
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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Categories: Burlington, Law Enforcement, Local government
Democrats, upset with Democrat policy!!! Burlington knowingly VOTED for this, even AFTER being told it was idiotic!! ZERO sympathy!!
Stop with the Narcan and the drug problem will lessen by attrition
Burlington citizens are harvesting the crop they seeded ..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5QjYI5qOQI
What used to be called the “Queen City ” is now the ” Cesspool City “, yes there’s crime, drugs, homelessness, and a hand full of nudists running around, and your local
elected officials think that’s Ok and let’s not forget the new injection site, now that shouldn’t be an issue or concern…………correct.
So under these conditions, the City Council AKA ” Gaggle of Fools ” wants to throw all this at the Burlington Police Department, the same department that they have unfunded and demoralized every step of the way, every request the BPD requested these clowns shoot it down……. Burlington is being led by a pack of inept fools and the leader is the new Mayor Emma ” Free Lunch” Mulvaney-Stanak needs to do her job or step out of the way, she’s apparently is in over her head.
Passing the buck won’t work you clowns made these problems with your progressive nonsense. Hey Burlington homeowners, did you get your new tax bill, how’s working for you….. it doesn’t seem like you are getting your money’s worth !!
Wake up people, you voted them in, you need to vote them out.
For starters, Sarah George needs to start doing her job. I know of one business who left because retail theft amounts exceeded profits, that business being Big and Tall. I know because I spoke to the manager. George won’t prosecute unless it’s over $1000 dollars in value. Little does she know how much theft adds up.
Then there are those who wanted change. Well, they got it. It will take a bunch of them to become victims before they smarten up.
We also have sanctuary status which allows for a drug trafficking corridor between the gangs of Hartford, CT, and Springfield, MA.
Yes, Burlington, you reap what you sow.
Sarah George is doing what she said she would do, go easy on criminals. It’s up to the voters to do something about it.
Yet with no landlords willing to take them, there’s nowhere for them to go. So they are on the streets increasingly, getting more desperate. Surprise, surprise: they act out in desperation and fall back into the only patterns they know, criminal ones. The Left liked to call moderates and conservatives NIMBYs for not wanting turbines and panels on their property, but the Left has become the NIMBYs in this new debacle: keep the homeless and criminals out of their sight and they will even pay for the needles themselves.
Hotel VT said $50,000 in repairs and adding a gate to the garage.
This is all just “shuffling the chairs on the deck of the Titanic” – The City Council and Mayor (along with the progressive State officials) are not interested in solving this problem of mayhem in Burlington. It’s part of their “business model” of driving divisiveness, violence and mayhem to heel the citizenry. I refuse to patronize Burlington for these reasons. Patronize Burlington at your own peril.
The moonbats are perfectly ok with generous sick time and family leave, right? The entire Burlington Police Department needs to take a “sick out” weekend and see if that stirs up any new appreciation for their role in society…
How classically liberal. Their policies lead to crime, and then they complain about the crime they yourselves have enabled.
I was born and grew up in Burlington. What a shame to see what has happened to Burlington. Thankfully my parents sold their new north end home and moved to North Myrtle Beach. Safer and 40%, yes a full 40%, cheaper to live in a North Myrtle Beach home at the same price.
Also, my grandfather legally immigrated from Germany in 1932. These Burlington city councilors have not only destroyed Burlington, they are proud Nazi’s! They even voted to prove it! How sick is that? These city councilors should be run out of the city, state and country, not just voted out.
More people need to speak up. Call these Burlington city councilors what they are, Nazi’s!